hi there, ive recently been accepted into life sciences at u of t st george campus and am wondering what to do next.(course wise). ive heard stories about how the courses you take first year have a huge impact on the later years in university. thats whats stressing me out because frankly im not sure what exactly i want to branch off into. also what can i specialize in further along the road? thanks
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hey there,
whoever’s been telling you that is talking a bunch of bologna. i mean, yes, first year is an important adjustment period and you shouldn’t take it lightly. the foundational life science courses (BIO120/130, MAT135/136, CHM135/136 and sometimes PHY131/132) are very important for your later years. a solid foundation in these courses will serve you well in pretty much any program in the life sciences that you decide to pursue.
and yes, you’ll likely have one or two courses in your first year that completely shake up (and possibly even reorder) how you think about the world. however, that doesn’t mean that those courses will set you down a certain path. if anything, they will open your mind to many more possibilities than you were previously aware of.
the great thing about uoft is that you’re not actually in a program in your first year. you can make mistakes, you can change your mind, you can not like any of the courses you’re taking – or you can love all of them. after you have a year under your belt, you can then approach the question of what program you’d like to apply to with a lot more context. in fact, you’ll only be able to sign up for programs in the summer after your first year. if anything, I think that not being sure what you want to do is better than being set on one thing, because it means you’ll be open to new paths, rather than going through first year with blinkers on.
as for what you can specialize in, your options are fairly extensive. assuming you decide to stay in the life sciences, just a short sampling of programs you might take includes: biology, biochemistry, cell and systems biology, chemistry, cognitive science, environmental science, forest conservation, human biology, immunology, molecular genetics…you get the idea.
your undergrad will prepare you to enter postgraduate programs like pharmacy, nursing, veterinary school or medical school, as well as research/graduate studies, or more non-traditional paths. ultimately, the longer you’re in school, the better you’ll be able to elucidate what it is you’re actually passionate about.
sometimes it takes four years of schooling to figure out that you don’t want to continue going to school; sometimes, it confirms that school is where you’d like to stay all your life. it takes time, and i think the major takeaway here should be: as long as it takes to figure it out, that’s not too long. and if you never figure it out, all the better, because that means you’re always learning.
cheers,
aska
